Search Results for: talk to hamas

PLATFORM FOR EVIL

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Sometimes BBC bias sickens me and then, sometimes, it enrages me.  This item this morning falls into the latter camp. I’ll pass on Jeremy Bowen’s loaded commentary, we all know how anti-Israel he is. But I simply couldn’t believe  way how Hamas apologist Professor Beverley Milton Edwards was allowed  to come on to the Today programme this morning and apologise for Hamas (Islamic resistance) This wretched academic, who disgracefully infests my Alma mater, even had the NERVE to refer to the Hamas murder of four innocent Israelis as “armed attacks” She did everything possible to present this gang of murdering killers as the very personification of reason when they are in fact the incarnation of evil. She tried to use what she alleges as the Northern Ireland template to justify talking to these savages. Here is the little daughter of two of the victims of Hamas reasonableness – look at her anguish, listen to the way this fool Edwards is allowed to pontificate, and share my rage at the BBC.
Israel funeral3

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Israel/BBC Conflict

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There seems to be consensus at the BBC that the peace talks will fail solely because of obstacles put up by a Mr Net’n’Yahoo. Something to do with the interweb?
As ever, the obstacles they constantly posit are: Settlements, 1967 borders and Jerusalem. Oh yes, and the right of return. Oh yes, and the necessity of talking to Hamas which Israel regards as a terrorist organisation. Oh yes, and the newly conceived theory that Israel’s existence endangers the lives of the US military.

All obligations on the part of the Palestinians that were formerly included in the roadmap have been airbrushed out like the model’s arse in a photoshoot.

So notwithstanding the inconvenient fact that they have been indoctrinated from the cradle to the grave with a murderous antipathy towards Jews, the Palestinians will submit obediently, with the proviso that Israel has rolled over and acceded to all requisite concessions as demanded by the majority. For example people like Paul Rogers, professor of Peace Studies at Bradford University who was consulted by Jane Little on the Sunday programme R4, for his expertise on peacemaking.

Professor Rogers has come to Peace Studies via climate science and environmentalism and he wears a leather gilet over a sweater for lecturing duties. His analysis of the incorrect way the West deals with terrorism relates to a theory he calls lidism, that is suppressing insurgencies rather than understanding their fundamental causes. That’s a superficial summary on my part, you understand.

Equally superficially, I’d say implementing a strategy informed by his own analysis of the M/E peace process would itself provide a perfect example of lidism, ie ignoring the aforementioned underlying causes of Arab resistance to Israel, and putting a lid on the lot of it by forcing Israel to give in, while not troubling the Palestinians to do some similar fundamental rethinking.

On Friday’s Any Questions programme, Alex Von Tunzelmann, batting for the BBC, kept reiterating that Muslims were not ‘other’ but were just like us. They do indeed arrive just like us in their birthday suits, Ms Von Tunzelperson, but are henceforth hot-housed into a belief system that is anything but just like ours, and wishing it weren’t so is not enough, by a long chalk, to make your wish come true.

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THE ANTI-ZIONIST NETWORK

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BBC interviews someone from  the self-loathing “Anti-Zionist Network” during an item “Are we too critical of Israel?” who suggests that we are too soft on Israel during the Sunday Morning programme. Susanne Reid very opinionated, evidently hostile to the Israeli position, with  liberal Jew Edwina Curry on to present soft-focus  opinion, Douglas Murray did his best. The programme was recorded here in Northern Ireland and bang on cue came the BBC- approved view that Israel and Hamas need to “sit around the table and talk it out” – just like what has happened here with the murderous IRA. It sickens me how the BBC passes off the appalling appeasement of terrorism that has taken place here as the template for all “conflict resolutions.” It is ONLY when Israel appeases Hamas that it can expect any decent coverage from the BBC.

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Baroness Doesn’t Open New Mall

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I’ve been watching Baroness Ashton being chaperoned around Gaza by John Ging. He has been showing her the wonderful schools run by UNWRA, which teach children wonderful things not about hatred, and Baroness Ashton has been a good baroness and hasn’t talked to Hamas.
Something about what I said the other day makes me suspect someone’s being economical with the actuality. Could these UNWRA schools be not quite what they seem?
“there are posters of martyrs on the walls of the schools and in the homes of UNRWA staff. Worse still, UNRWA workers are essentially members of Hamas:”

Furthermore, the BBC hasn’t breathed a word about the new shopping mall that has been opened. I thought the Baroness could at least have been asked to perform the opening ceremony, but apparently not.
I guess that might have spoiled the effect of what the Baroness said, fighting back the the sobs. “Although Israel has eased the blockade, it still isn’t enough.”

Let Political and media commentator Tom Gross take up the tale.

“UPDATE, Sunday July 18, 2010:
“Some journalists who subscribe to this list have asked me for a quote. You are welcome to use the following.

“On a day when (because EU Foreign Policy Chief Baroness Ashton is in Gaza) the BBC and other media have featured extensive reports all day long on what they term the dire economic situation in Gaza, why are they not mentioning the new shopping mall that opened there yesterday?

“When leading news outlets mention the so-called humanitarian flotillas from Turkey, why do they omit the fact that life expectancy and literacy rates are higher, and infant mortality rates are lower in Gaza than corresponding rates in Turkey? Have they considered that perhaps the humanitarian flotillas ought to be going in the other direction, towards Turkey?”

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Whassup?

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James Naughtie is baffled. Some bad men have attacked a children’s’ UN summer camp in Gaza. He asks Jon Donnison if he knows anything. “Could it be something to do with Hamas?” he speculates. “Only, it’s the second time this has happened.”
“Why do you suppose Hamas don’t like the UN summer camps?” He wonders.
“They’re jealous, because their own summer camps are rubbish. Also, they don’t like girls cavorting on the beach.”

“oh; well that’s understandable then.” “We’ll be talking to someone from the UN in a minute.”
Can’t wait to see how they explain this one away. Maybe it was Israel’s fault. The illegal blockade, probably

No, you prat. It’s because Hamas is an Islamist outfit who think nothing of tying people up and throwing them off tall buildings, and they aren’t too keen on anything much, especially women’s lib, and fun. You know, a bit like those bad Taliwhassisnames that our brave boys are fighting in Affie.

Update: Surprise surprise. They got our friend, Israel hating John Ging to speak for the UN. “It’s the fault of the conditions Gazans have to live in.” (Israel’s fault.)
I’ll add links ASAP.

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What If

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Inspired by CifWatch, here are some What Ifs.

You know that Panorama episode where they set up a Muslim honey-trap scenario to highlight Islamophobia? Well, what if they made a Panorama with a decoy Jew to expose antisemitism like the Amsterdam police had to.

You know Alan ‘I’m telling your story’ Johnston, theBBC kidnapee that became a cause célèbre? Well, it’s 4 years on friday since Gilad Shalit was kidnapped by Hamas and the Army of Islam. What if the BBC marked this horrible anniversary by making a little fuss about his human rights?

You know the BBC’s fixation that peace will be brought closer by talking to Hamas? What if they suddenly realised that this was specious and delusive?

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WHEN INTERVIEWS GO WRONG…

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A biased bbc reader writes…

“Mosab Hassan Yousef is the eldest son of a senior Hamascommander. He was arrested by Shin Bet and beaten by three of their agents. Hepoints out that this is not Shin Bet or Israeli policy, but the actions ofindividual agents who hate Palestinians. He has converted to Christianity andnow works to save lives – Israeli or Palestinian. If that means informing onHamas or Fatah operations he will do it. He blames the war not of Israelis orPalestinians but on ideology – specifically the Koran.

He was presumably asked onto Hardtalk on account of abook he has written. Zeinab Badawi persistently interrupted him, and tried todivert him from points he wanted to make to issues which she considered moreimportant. Badawi is from a Muslim background, though whether she is apractising Muslim is not known to me. It was obvious that Yousef’s criticism ofPalestinians and Islam were getting under her skin. That Yousef should hold upa Koran at the end and blame it for the whole Israel/Palestine conflict musthave shot a dagger through her multicultural spleen. Watch for yourself.”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00sggyw/HARDtalk_Mosab_Hassan_Yousef_Palestinian_who_spied_for_Israel/

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Some Unmentionable Matters

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Yesterday ‘Elder of Ziyon’ reported ‘Hamas’ interior minister’s sick daughter airlifted by Israel to Jordan.’ We have to go to Islamic Jihad’s organ ‘Palestine Today’ to read a transcendental Google Translation of the tale because Fathi Hammad was feeling a bit shy. He feared the story wouldn’t go down very well at home.

“Sources in Gaza yesterday that the situation of girls has improved. In addition, it imposed stringent controls in the sector did not put any details about the case in the media.

Maariv quoted the Fatah men in Gaza, said Hamas leaders would be in big embarrassment in the wake of the event, because the talk is going for Israel permission to help a man great enthusiasm.”

The BBC version of this story also needs a translation. Their version seems to say:

Israel’s blockade of Gaza puts residents’ health at risk. Israel only allowed this child to leave after special pleading from Jordan’s King Abdullah ll.

Elder of Ziyon fills in the gaps that an unbiased BBC would have provided:

“- Israel regularly allows Gazans to be treated at Israeli hospitals.

– In 2009, Israel allowed over 10,000 Gazans to come to Israel for medical purposes.

– Another 10,000 Gazans exited the Strip for other reasons.

– An Israeli medical clinic that was built specifically for Gazans injured in Operation Cast Lead was closed down when Hamas refused to allow any residents to get treated there.

– Hamas has methodically taken over all the medical associations in Gaza since seizing power, replacing doctors if their political views weren’t deemed to be pro-Hamas enough.

– Hamas has used Gaza hospitals and ambulances to transport and protect its own militants

It seems that the BBC has a narrative about Gaza and it will only mention the facts that it deems relevant to pushing that narrative. It just so happens that this narrative has nothing bad to say about Hamas and everything bad to say about Israel.”

Commenter Zvi has carried out a systematic study of BBC bias against Israel, and he hopes the BBC will read his comment, and change. But he doubts it.

H/T Biodegradable: Open Thread.

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The Curious Incident of Joe Biden in the Daytime

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The tidal wave of disapproval over Israel’s recent misadventures has taken on a life of its own.

The Joe Biden incident was interpreted as an insult, both to him personally and to the whole United States. People have noticed that the language used by the Obama administration inflates the degree of offence taken, mimicking Arab-style rhetoric where pride and honour take precedence over common sense. The unfortunate timing of what was primarily a formality over an internal matter was blown up out of all proportion so it could be misrepresented as Israel’s deliberately planned symbol of defiance, and exploited to camouflage / justify Obama’s emerging strategy of siding with Israel’s enemies.

If the BBC was interested in reporting the full story they would have explained that Obama has reneged on previous agreements between Israel and the US over Jerusalem and ‘houses for Jews’ and is making new demands for concessions from Israel while letting the Palestinians off the hook altogether. He has not asked them for any concessions at all and it is feared that they are thinking up new preconditions for talks about talks while the going is good.

The BBC’S expansionist attitude to the concept of ‘illegally occupied territory’ means it now encompasses everything captured in Israel’s 1967 defensive war, and they’ve got their beady colonialist eye on Israel as a whole. All’s fair in love and war, and in the BBC’s eyes, in war, the winner loses all. (this concept is exclusive to Israel)

While the press made an almighty fuss about the height of the Turkish Ambassador’s seat, the BBC is less keen to trumpet the snubs that Obama dishes out so rudely to those he regards as unworthy, like our own dear leader, and of course Binyamin Netanyahu, who seems to have been left alone in the White House to mull over a list of new demands from Obama while he went off to dine with Michelle and the girls. And would only come back if Israel’s prime minister said sorry for being a naughty boy.

David Miliband’s speech about the expulsion of the Israeli diplomat received a chorus of approval from MPs of all shades, and though he stressed that the issue in question was the cloning of passports rather than the assassination, the BBC doesn’t make that distinction.

Time after time people have been allowed to assert, unchallenged on the BBC, that the ‘victims’ of the cloning, the ‘British’ citizens who have been so wronged, risked being mistaken for terrorists. The final question on Thursdays QT was phrased strangely. Something like: “Is expulsion the appropriate penalty for an act of terrorism?” Dimbleby seemed happy enough with that.

In the eyes of the BBC and consequently, the public, Israel is a terrorist state, therefore Mossad, the IDF and whoever assassinated a ‘senior Hamas Commander’ are terrorists. Unless it transpires that it wasn’t Israel, in which case they’d be militants or freedom fighters.

David Miliband said the victims of the cloning woke up to find themselves ‘wanted terrorists.’ Denis MacShane on the Today programme bemoaned the fact that they had had their pictures splashed all over the papers.

Well, a) I thought the passport pictures were of the actual assassins, not the genuine passport holders, and, b) when the word terrorist is avoided like the plague by the BBC, why is it suddenly applied with gay abandon to assassins who targeted a scoundrel, doing what many other countries, including Great Britain, allegedly get away with all the time without a ripple. Is it coz they is (possibly) Joos?

See Robin Shepherd on the odious Richard Ingrams who has written more bile on this topic. Famous for:
“I have developed a habit, when confronted by letters to the editor in support of the Israeli government, to look at the signature to see if the writer has a Jewish name. If so, I tend not to read it.”

I have developed a habit, when confronted by articles in the Guardian or the Independent, to look at the signature to see if the writer is Richard Ingrams. If so, I tend not to read them.”

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Baying For Blood

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The groundswell of hatred and resentment against Tony Blair is at fever pitch, so that anyone who dares to raise their head in support of him or his performance at the Chilcot inquiry will be pelted with dogshit and disemboweled.
The BBC had a queue of talking heads lined up, eager to add their bit. “He showed no remorse, no contrition, no respect for the families,” they bleated. “He took us to war on a lie, he disregarded the legality, he ignored Robin Cook and Clare Short, he promised undying loyalty to Bush, he switched the justification for war from WMDs in 24 hours to regime change” etc etc.
Suddenly Robin Cook and Clare Short are reinvented as heroic martyrs. If only they’d been listened to, albeit resigning making that a little difficult, everything would have been fine and Saddam and Iraq would have lived happily ever after. No one would have needed to be radicalized, no one would have insurged, and Uday and the other one would have mellowed and given out posies of roses.
The BBC’s disproportionate fascination with the new-age under-age protesters ratcheted up the ante; various interviews and analyses consolidated the consensus that Blair was an insensitive self-obsessed delusional war criminal, and an Oscar-deserving actor to boot.

Today ran an interview with the former ambassador to Iran, Sir Richard Dalton. You can guess what he had to say about Blair’s allusion to confronting Iran. It caused James Naughtie to remark, “The Devil Incarnate would like that” – sorry, that should be, “Benjamin Netanyahu would like that” – to which Dalton replied, “That’s not in the UK’s interest.”
Naughtie referred to rogue states with access to nuclear weapons, but was assured that Iran having nuclear capabilities doesn’t necessarily mean it would ‘hand secrets to terrorists.’ After all, Iran has chemical weapons and hasn’t done such a thing and never would. Not counting Hamas and Hezbollah of course. If the former ambassador to Iran says they don’t arm terrorists, well, he would know. Or did he mean to say they don’t harm terrorists?

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